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Non-stoichiometric curing effect on fracture toughness of nanosilica particulate-reinforced epoxy composites

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Abstract

Non-stoichiometric curing effects on the fracture toughness behaviors of nanosilica particulate-reinforced epoxy composites were experimentally investigated in this study by comparing them with bending strengths to take into consideration the effect of interaction between nanoparticles and network structures in matrix resins. The matrixes were prepared by curing them with an excess mixture of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A-type epoxy resin as the curing agent for the stoichiometric condition. The volume fractions of the silica particles with a median diameter of 240 nm were constantly 0.2 for all composites. The neat epoxy resins and the composites were cured non-stoichiometrically to change the crosslinking densities of the neat epoxy resins and the matrix resins of the composites within 2740–490 mol/m3. The fracture toughnesses and bending strengths of the composites and the neat epoxy resins strongly depended on the crosslinking densities in the resins. Although the fracture toughness decreased monotonously from that of the stoichiometrically cured resins as the crosslinking density decreased, the fracture toughnesses of composites were largest at a slightly lower crosslinking density of approximately 2490 mol/m3 from the stoichiometric condition of 2740 mol/m3. The fracture toughness and the bending strength were improved for crosslinking densities higher than 2000 mol/m3 by adding particles. At crosslinking density lower than 2000 mol/m3, the particles worked against the mechanical properties as defects in matrix resins.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI, Grant Number 25420013.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology Hibarigaoka, Tempaku, Toyohashi, 441-8580, Japan

    Markus Karamoy Umboh & Tadaharu Adachi

  2. Department of Applied Chemistry, Kobe City College of Technology 8-3 Gakuenhigashi-cho, Nishi-ku, Kobe, 651-2194, Japan

    Tadamasa Nemoto

  3. School of Mechanical Engineering, Kanazawa University Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-1192, Japan

    Masahiro Higuchi

  4. Institute of Polymer Product Engineering, Johannes Kepler University, Linz Altenbergerstrasse 69, 4040, Linz, Austria

    Zoltan Major

Authors
  1. Markus Karamoy Umboh
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  2. Tadaharu Adachi
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  3. Tadamasa Nemoto
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  4. Masahiro Higuchi
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  5. Zoltan Major
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Correspondence to Tadaharu Adachi.

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Umboh, M.K., Adachi, T., Nemoto, T. et al. Non-stoichiometric curing effect on fracture toughness of nanosilica particulate-reinforced epoxy composites. J Mater Sci 49, 7454–7461 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-014-8450-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-014-8450-6

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